the wrong side
by centennialwriter
Summary: If Kimberly Cohen could go back and sort out her miserable life, she wouldn't have forgotten him, or aligned herself with the villains. But could she help herself? Gwen Grayson was a charmer. slight femslash. OC.


My father would've never won the Best Dad of the Year Award, but I would often daydream that maybe, just maybe, that if That Day had never happened, we would've been a slightly more normal, loving family than we were.

Well, as normal as you could get with an alcoholic father who spent most of his living hours drinking and working on court cases.

The Day was right in the middle of my freshman year at Maxville High School. Rob Connolly had just pushed me into the dirt and stepped on my glasses, right in front of the whole school.

Now, don't get me wrong. I've always been bullied. Stolen lunch money, shoves in the sandboxes, and all the like were my constant companions. My heavy, black rimmed glasses, absurd amount of freckles, Raggedy-Ann cropped red hair, and smart-mouth attitude didn't do anything to repel the bullies. But it wasn't Rob Connolly's foot on my arm or the widespread humiliation that burned my pale cheeks that caused me to crack.

It was the things he **said**.

Him going off about my drunk of a father was no shock to me. It was when he started on my mother, who he declared was a wanton scarlet woman who seduced my father for his money and ran off after popping out a kid, when my blood started pounding. My mother, who I always held as my secret hope in my heart, who I would hope would rescue me from my miserable father, was a delicate topic in my household.

I remember one day in kindergarten, after seeing Kelly Reichman's mom pick her up and hug her tight after coming back from a long business trip, I came home from school and asked my clearly hungover father if I had a mom.

He told me to never enter his workroom again.

So, when the image of my perfect, loving, savior of a mother was tarnished by the dirty words of Rob Connolly, I stared right up into his sneering face and wished him death.

Well, he didn't die (thankfully), but he let out the most bloodcurdling scream and pushed away from me, staring at me like I was the Devil himself.

My father was more pissed (and showing more emotion than I'd ever seen him) than ever when I got home from school. A while later, a bunch of businesspeople wielding briefcases came in and started talking to him about superpowers and restrictions, all while I sat there, scared out of my own mind by the power I held.

It turns out that my dear old dad knew about the superworld, and even represented a few of them in court. His role as a lawyer had already familiarized him with the doings of the other society. He even knew that my mother had superpowers of her own before she took off with half of his bank account in her pocket, and yet he never thought it appropriate to tell me.

I talked to him that night more than I'd ever said to him in my whole lifetime. Well, "talked" is a debatable term. It was likely that no neighbors got any sleep that night, as I screamed and screamed at him for his drunkenness, for not caring for his only child, for not raising me into a proper human being. All the while, he cradled a bottle of scotch and stared at nothing.

It was no wonder, when I enrolled in Sky High, that my hope for a renewed life was shot to hell.

* * *

><p>I entered Sky High about three months later than the registered freshmen, and just my luck, I went through Power Placement in front of the whole school, as it was the only block that Coach Boomer would spare any of his precious time.<p>

I haven't totally explained my power yet. Can you blame me? It's revolting, as you'll soon know.

As Robby Connolly explained to my former principal, he saw his worst fear (which happened to be his sister dying from a long-term sickness), personified in front of him. It completely crippled him and left him screaming for a good ten minutes.

I'm not a totally sunshine-and-rainbows-person, but inflicting that amount of pain on another human being doesn't sit well with me.

So when Coach Boomer asked me to demonstrate my power in front of the whole school (who I was hoping to make a good impression on, and even make a few friends), I was a little unnerved.

Yes, I wanted to make the Hero track. Badly. Being bullied my whole life gave me the undying thirst for approval and just _having friends_. And I knew that undoubtedly, I was in for further bullying if I landed in the Sidekick track. So when my inner balance fought over whether I should stick with my morals or jump headfirst into uncharted territory, I decided to screw it and hope for the best.

I picked out a random girl in the stands. At this point in time, which happened to be only two days after the incident with Rob Connolly took place, I still didn't have a firm grasp on how to properly use my powers.

So I did what I did to Rob Connolly. I focused all my bitterness and hate for life on that poor, innocent girl in the stands, who immediately stood up and began screaming her head off and clutching her ears, her eyes gray and unfocused.

"Alright, stop it, stop it!" It turns out that the great Coach Boomer gets unnerved sometimes, after all. His voice shook subtly, and he was looking at me more warily now. "You can just explain your powers to me, freshman."

Speak in front of all these people, who are already scared to death of me? "... as far as I know, it's something to do with inducing fear and blinding the opponent." Really? Did I really have to sound so much like a nerd?

Boomer looked conflicted. "Kimberly Cohen, Hero."

* * *

><p>While I certainly didn't make Hero of the Year Award or Got Dunked the Most by Lash Award, I still became somewhat of a social pariah. Maybe it was the constant scowl, or the whole "I-make-people-relive-their-worst-fears" power, but people tended to stay away.<p>

It was a nice change from junior high, so I just went with it.

Until I made school-wide attention when Brandon Jauntley decided to pick me as his Save the Citizen partner in hopes of beating Lash and Speed (bullies who I've somehow managed to avoid).

Seething and angry, I must have made a frightening picture as I geared up with Brandon in the locker room. He kind of cowered as he tried to explain to me his strategy. Right now I was seriously considering using my power on him just to see him suffer, but I realized the poor guy was just out looking for revenge on the Terrible Two.

I lifted a menacing eyebrow at him. "Aren't you the one Lash hung on the flagpole yesterday?"

He clenched his fists, looked down and nodded.

"And you thought getting me would work the best against them? Yeah, I can incapacitate and blind one person, but definitely not for more than five minutes straight. What would you do with the other one?" I scoffed derisively. I had long ago learned that taking revenge on bullies would end in more suffering, but this Sidekick had an unending death wish on Lash and Speed, and the audacity to try to recruit resident school loner #2 (pyromaniac Warren Peace took first).

He looked up with a kind of determination that I recognized from myself, before being crushed by school jerks and my father. "No, Cohen! I've seen the potential in you during Power Development class. You can definitely hold the control on your power for at least ten minutes, by my calculations. And, I bet you can hold it not just on two people, but at least ten. It just happens that Boomer and the others in class don't want to be target practice for you that you don't get to develop your potential," he said resolutely.

I blinked up at him. He was still holding a determined pose, and I was a bit in awe. Who knew that the nerdy Sidekick had so much spirit? I had never had anyone ever _believe _in me before, and his perseverance convinced me to go along with his suicidal plan.

When we finished gearing and entered the floor, which had transformed into a parkscape for Save the Citizen, Lash and Speed were lounging around on a bench, looking as if they were in for another easy creaming. The arrogant looks, the posturing, brought me back to my middle school days. I felt the inclination for revenge seep into me, and immediately went for Lash as the buzzer sounded off.

Brandon, who has the close to useless power of turning into mist, had shapeshifted and was busy dodging Speed as Lash cried in agony.

"Kimberly! Watch out!" Well. I didn't know transformed mists could talk, so I was focused on Lash as Speed swept by me, sending me careening into an empty dumpster.

"Kim, are you okay?" I felt mist on my arms and then solid hands, and opened my eyes up to a fretting Brandon. "You have to extend the power, focus it on the two of them at once!" He misted away and was gone.

Easier said than done, but I tried nonetheless. Lash, who was extending his arms toward me for more, immediately dropped into a fetal position when I focused on him, and Speed who sped toward me again, was stopped in his tracks as I turned my gaze to him.

Right away, an agonizing headache split my skull, but I kept my powers on the both of them, grit my teeth, and yelled, "Get the citizen, Brandon!"

Brandon, who was previously cheering for my success, misted and took off with the wailing robot citizen.

* * *

><p>I hit the locker with a groan as I clutched my pounding head. Pushing the limits of my power proved to be hazardous to my mental capacity.<p>

"Hey."

I banged my head back in surprise and snapped my eyes open. I was sitting on the floor of the girls locker room, not expecting anyone to be in the vicinity, as I was the only girl who participated in Save the Citizen today.

Lash and Speed stood in front of me, looking oddly serious, opposed to their usual air of mischievousness.

I looked up at them, and in turn, caught the shining of the school lights in my eyes. "Agh!" I clutched my head and lowered my torso to hug my knees.

"You idiot!" I heard the slightly deeper voice of Lash say. A punch against fabric was heard. "Hurting her wasn't the plan."

"Chill, lank! I didn't throw her too hard. It was only like 150 miles per hour."

"Wh-" I muttered, but was cut off by the ringing of the bell.

"Oh, shoot. C'mon Speed, we gotta catch Gwen in the front. De-gear, scowly," he kicked my shoe and I let out a low growl. "We're about to meet the queen."

Grunts One and Two didn't really explain anything to me as they strapped me to the new Model One Thousand jetpack and flew us down to the rest of the world. I scowled and complained my whole way down, and they relentlessly joked over my shoulders.

We stopped at some house (which was situated in the same posh neighborhood I lived in) and they shoved me in.

I faceplanted at two sparkly pink heels.

* * *

><p>It turned out to be Gwen Grayson, resident forerunner for student class president next year and Queen Bee of the junior Heroes. Why some junior wanted her two lackeys to drag some antisocial freshman to her house for briefing, I wasn't sure.<p>

So when Gwen Grayson, Sue Tenny, or Royal Pain, revealed her master plan to me with her lackeys staring at me like I was either a huge asset or a huge threat, I asked, "Why me? Why do you need me when your plan seems to be developing fine without me?"

She smiled a mysterious smile. "I see you keep priorities in mind. You see, Kimberly Cohen, I need leaders for the new generation we will create. I need trained, inspiring leaders that will lead our generation of villains into a new era, of which _we_ shall be the foundation." Her eyes were shining with the promise of the glory, the renewal, of her old life. Her voice held the prospect of power and honor beyond imagine.

I was awed, and my life would be changed forever.


End file.
